Rave Dad's Diary

For episode 18, I'm rebroadcasting my conversation with two folks in the harm reduction world I look up to a lot. Mitchell Gomez and Kristin Karas both work for Dancesafe, a non-profit promoting health and safety in dance music and nightlife communities.

Playlist:

• Guido - Orchestral Lab
• OAKK - Fewer Days
• Bicep, featuring Clara La San - X

Welcome to episode 17 of Rave Dad’s Diary. Today I’m talking to the producer and DJ Sydney Blu. She was based in Berlin and living her best life, performing and making dance music when the pandemic hit last year. She’ll talk about what it was like producing her latest album between a studio in Berlin and her mom’s kitchen in Thunder Bay, Ontario.

Playlist:

• Noah Pred, The Mole - Portal Gun
• Sydney Blu - Temple
• Sydney Blu - Nightshade

Recently I was talking to a friend and they told me they were dating a secret DJ. I laughed because I knew exactly what they were talking about. Some of the biggest heads I know in the dance music scene and many of the best DJs and producers are very low key and they hold down careers in completely different fields.

In episode 10 of Rave Dad's Diary I spoke to DJs who were pivoting into different careers because of the pandemic. On today's episode I'm exploring the opposite. I'm talking to Joanna Majik, a Calgary based entrepreneur and DJ with a passion for music, marketing and movement. Live music and fitness classes were hit hard by the pandemic, but Joanna figures now is the right time to launch a DJ career. I'll talk to Joanna about what lead to that decision.

But first I'm talking to Andrew Burdall aka Burdy. He's a Calgary-based producer and DJ originally from the UK and he's returning to dance music after a long hiatus.

Playlist:

• Guido - Orchestral Lab
• Burdy - Satelite 47
• Joanna Magik - Who's Your Babi?

Hey! It’s episode 15 of Rave Dad’s Diary.

On today’s show, we’re getting a sneak preview of a new independent radio show and podcast about harm reduction. Sanctuary Radio launches today and I speak with the show’s creator, Stacey Marie.

Playlist:

• Guido - Orchestral Lab
• Esette - You
• Ikonika - Little and Often

Welcome to Episode 14 of Rave Dad's Diary. On today's show, I speak with Alain Mongeau, founder and current managing and artistic director of MUTEK. We're talking about HYBRID- Cutting Edge Canada, a digital festival taking place from March 11 to 14, 2021. It's free and it's going to be AMAZING. Learn more about the program and register now via virtual.mutek.org.

Also on today's program, I catch up with one of the artists presenting at the HYBRID event. Priori is a Montreal-based producer and we'll hear a portion of his exceptional live performance from MUTEK Montreal 2019.

Playlist:

• Ouri - Shape of It
• Priori - SCN 2
• Priori, Al Wooton - JL (Priori Sharp Tool)
• Priori - RED 3
• Ntel - Swarm
• Ntel - Swarm (Scanner Mix)

“It’s Probably not what you’re thinking...”

That’s what Ohama says about his new album titled My Electronic Country Album. If you think the title means you’re getting Ohama’s take on 13 country classics arranged with synth sounds, you’re only half right.

On today’s show I talk to the enigmatic Calgary-based artist about his new project. It’s amazing. It’s unlike anything I’ve heard before. Stick around.

Playlist:

• Ohama - Julie is a T.V. Set
• Ohama - Prologue: Growing Up in the 60s
• Ohama - Preface: Why Do a Country Album with Synths?
• Ohama - 3 Things You Don't Know About Me
• Ohama - King of The Road
• Ohama - Paint it Liquid Sky
• Ohama - Ring of Fire
• Ohama - Greed Is Good
• Ohama - Help Me Make it Through the Night
• Ohama - The Dance

Welcome to episode twelve and the final episode of season 1 of Rave Dad’s Diary. If you’ve been along for the ride, thank you! If this is your first episode and you like what you hear, check out the whole season via Apple Podcasts and www.cjsw.com. And don’t forget to visit Rave Dad’s Diary on the web: www.pbrooks.ca/ravedadsdiary

In this episode, I check back in with urbanist, Sheena Jardine-Olade from Nightlab, and we talk about what municipalities can do to start preparing people for success when the aftershocks of the pandemic have settled.

I also chat with Sachin Sudra, from Namaste cooking about bringing an ancient wisdom and branch of wellness called Ayurveda, into the rave.

Today’s musical guest is signed to the label Brainfeeder, where label boss, Flying Lotus, describes their productions as “fkn insane”. Stay tuned to hear my conversation with Little Snake and a special feature he prepared just for Rave Dad’s Diary.

Playlist:

• Guido - Orchestral Lab
• Little Snake, Amon Tobin - Loophole
• Homesick - Clean Carpet

Today I chop it up with my friend and Calgary ex-pat, Steph Rushton aka the dangerous accountant. She’s a chartered professional accountant currently based in Paris. She specializes in working with artists and she also works in music supervision for television and film, which is something I’m very interested in. You’ll hear our conversation in hour 2.

I’m going to start the show off today with material from the archives. Over the holidays I logged into my old dropbox account and found some recordings of the radio show I used to host on 90.9 FM CJSW called What Will the Neighbours Think? We're going to listen to a show from 2012 where I hosted producer, DJ and Mad Decent affiliate, Boy 8-Bit. Enjoy!

Playlist:

• Guido - Orchestral Lab
• HomeSick - Clean Carpet

Welcome to episode 10. Today I check in with three electronic music industry pros honing new skills in lockdown. We’ll hear from DJ Ali B who’s turned to casting bronze sculptures. Booking Agent, Grant Paley, is learning the ins and outs of Twitch and monetizing live streams. And Sandro Petrillo is making bars of soap. But first, you’re going to hear some Canadian Synthwave Music compiled by Sarah Mackenzie in Montreal.

I’ll be taking a couple of weeks off over the holidays, so it’s the perfect time for you to catch up on the series. Stream past episodes on CJSW dot com and Apple Podcasts. And don’t forget to visit the Rave Dad’s Diary website to find photos and links from the show. You can find that at www.pbrooks.ca/ravedadsdiary

Playlist:

• Guido - Orchestral Lab
• Nudimension - Amour Programmé
• Psyche - The Saint Became A Lush
• Ohama - Where Do You Call Home?
• Pop Cycles - Popcorn
• Trans-X - Vivre Sur Vidéo
• Rational Youth - Cité Phosphore
• Automelodi - La Poussière
• Marc Drouin et les Échalotes - Monsieur Montréal
• Desire - Bizarre Love Triangle
• Cosmetics - Sleepwalking
• Police Des Moeurs - Première Neige
• Marie Davidson, Lamusa II - La Ecstase (Silent Servant Remix)
• Homesick - Clean Carpet
• B. Traits - Acid Landscape

Welcome to episode 9. Today I’m excited to share with you my conversation with Emerence Merkle from Obskur Music, a Canadian techno label showcasing LGBTQ+ & POC artists. Emerence takes us on a tour of the label and then we’ll hear a mix from Obskur Music artists, SIG SA Lee. But first, we’re going to listen to another interview from the archive.

In 2013 I spoke with Tricky just before the release of his album, False Idols. Listening back to this interview, I sound like crap. I remember now I had a terrible head cold. But I couldn’t pass on the opportunity to interview one of my favourite artists.

Playlist:

• Guido - Orchestral LAb
• Jen Series - I'm Freaking Out Sistah
• Kloves, Emerencz - Lange Verloren
• Kloves - Bound
• Rebug - Expletive Schema
• Korea Town Acid - Control Freak